All That Glitters

Some of Goldline shill Glenn "Boo Hoo" Beck's sheeple are feeling a little light in their portfolios today:

Gold prices fell again Monday, keeping the metal on track for its first annual loss since 2000.

The actively traded February contract edged down $6.70, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $1,197 an ounce.

Gold is down 29 percent this year. It has been falling as fears have dissipated that the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policies would cause inflation and weaken the dollar.

That 29 percent drop in gold?  That's the worst in more than 30 years, and the deepest drop since 1981, according to Quincy Krosby at Prudential Financial.

Buying gold as a "hedge" against an inflationary boogeyman is a line that Beck and others =cough= Heil Hannity = cough= have been pitching for both political and personal profit reasons.  Naturally, as grifters, Beck, Hannity, et al. have no particular concern about the potential financial impacts of their endorsements on the credulous, paranoid bunker-builders that comprise a large portion of their audience.  (Beck's attitude is likely, "If they're stupid enough to take investment advice from me, well...")

By the way, here's what one former Goldline insider had to say about its business practice:

“Goldline specifically targets vulnerable consumers with sales tactics designed to pressure those consumers into buying products that would often result in the consumer losing over one-third of his or her investment the instant the purchase is made meaning that, even when the price of the precious metals increases, because these consumers were deceived into purchasing coins with mark-ups exceeding 50 percent, it could be years, if ever, before the consumer recoups, much less makes any profit on, the investment.”

So, anyone who invested in Goldline products at Beck's urging got the double whammy of over-paying for a commodity that was sinking like a, um, stone.  But, don't worry.   Beck got paid.

(Image:  "Trusted and Used by Glenn Beck."  Yeah, if you trusted Beck, you might be feeling used about now.)